MJF Believes In Listening To Good Faith Criticism, Says Online Hate Fuels Him

MJF says it’s important to listen to good faith criticism of AEW — even if he thinks they’re (obviously, in his eyes) wrong. Like any pro wrestler, the AEW star is no stranger to criticism on social media and has used the platform to fire back at some of his more hateful critics over the years. He also enjoys using it to rile people up, like the heel he is.

MJF weighed in on online criticism during his interview with Lyric for Pro Wrestling Illustrated. He noted that it’s not hard to tell good faith criticism from bad, pointing out stan accounts that are constantly critical as the latter. He also noted that the hatred he gets online fuels him and motivates him to succeed. You can see the highlights below:

On Listening To Good Faith Criticism:

“I think it’s really easy to tell what’s good faith and what’s bad faith criticism. If somebody’s talking about my company and they have like an avatar of — God bless her, like Alexa Bliss. And like every single tweet from here down, it’s not even about WWE. It’s just them s**ting on AEW, then it’s like, ‘Okay, maybe that’s not the best person to listen to.’ But if it’s somebody who’s genuinely a grassroots fan of our company and somebody who wants to see our company succeed, I do believe that it’s important to hear people out. Now, are these people right? No. I’m always right and most people are always wrong.”

On Using Online Hate As Motivation:

“But what I do like to do with people like you, Lyric, is I’ll read a negative tweet about me while I’m in the gym. And I’ll just keep reading it over and over again. And I’ll hit PRs, I’ll break records for how long I’m on the treadmill or the Stairmaster, how long I can stay in the sauna. I use negativity and hate as fuel.

“So, if you find yourself being upset with the way I am on television and you post about it, just know all you’re doing is feeding the monster. Because I’m going to read what you’re writing about me and then I’m not just going to double down; I’m going to triple down. And you’re going to find yourself in a world of pain, because you’re only making me stronger. The more negativity you speak about me online — essentially what you’re doing is, you are feeding me your negativity and it’s just making me grow and grow and grow. So, thank you.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Pro Wrestling Illustrated with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.